Can coders become business leaders? Cornell University is betting they can.

Next spring, the university's Johnson Graduate School of Management will launch a one-year M.B.A. designed to give engineers and software developers a grounding in management skills. The combination is crucial, employers say, as information technology shifts from a back-office function to a core business strategy.

While the school is investing only a "modest" amount in the venture, officials say, the program, part of Cornell's New York City tech campus, is reimagining the M.B.A., dropping monthslong lecture courses in favor of learning by doing.

Cornell went directly to startups and tech companies such as LinkedIn Corp. and Deloitte Services LP for advice on what to teach. Faculty and staff asked employers about the skills they are struggling to find, and how a person might go about acquiring those skills, says Doug Stayman, associate dean for M.B.A. programs at Johnson. As a result, the proposed curriculum—expected to be approved next month—will include courses on software development, and leadership instruction will have a special focus on persuasion.

Unlike a traditional M.B.A., where courses last a semester, faculty will teach subjects such as design thinking and digital marketing in short bursts. Those will be followed by hands-on work exploring a startup project or pitching in on a company-sponsored assignment. Business students will work alongside engineering and computer-science students to prepare them for the group dynamic of life in technology.

Cornell already has graduate-degree programs in engineering and computer science under way at its temporary quarters in Google Inc.'s Manhattan office building. The campus, which will have a permanent home on Roosevelt Island, is part of a city-backed effort to cement New York as a tech hub.

The M.B.A. students will spend the first part of the year on Cornell's main campus in Ithaca, N.Y., taking summer courses in accounting, strategy and finance, with the rest in Manhattan. In January, they will spend a few weeks in Israel pursuing a hands-on project and learning about the regional tech industry.

"If technology really is permeating everything that we do in this information economy, business-school curricula will need to change over time. We're just trying to get way out ahead of it," says Daniel Huttenlocher, dean and vice provost of the Tech Campus.

The application also veers from the b-school norm. Candidates can upload their résumés and prepopulate some forms using information from their LinkedIn profiles. The school will also accept videos and Web links in lieu of applicant essays, if candidates choose.

The experiment has its risks. It could tarnish the reputation of Cornell's traditional b-school offerings if it falls flat or takes longer than expected to scale up. And if it does prove successful, there is little to stop other schools from simply copying the model.

If the program pans out, it might help tech companies warm to the idea of hiring M.B.A.s.

Keith Cowing, a senior product specialist at LinkedIn who helped advise Cornell on curriculum development, says his industry needs students who can learn a concept and use it immediately, creating a "rhythm" of theory and practice that is common in the tech world.

Mr. Stayman says Cornell has been flooded with interest from companies that want to host students for projects, including MasterCard Inc. and Intel Corp. Whether that interest during the school year results in jobs at graduation remains to be seen.

Other schools are skeptical that Cornell's program is all that new.

"We're very happy that the world is finally coming around to what we've always been doing," says Michael Trick, senior associate dean at Carnegie Mellon University's Tepper School of Business. He contends that its existing M.B.A. has already successfully married technology and business skills.

Employers such as Next Jump Inc., a New York-based online rewards company with about 200 employees, will be watching Cornell closely. Chief Executive and founder Charlie Kim says he hasn't hired any business students since 2010, when none of 12 M.B.A.s who were hired worked out because they appeared more focused on spreadsheets and strategy than action. He says he expects the Cornell students to be "thinkers and doers."

Johnson has had 40 to 50 inquiries a week since it announced the program in July. It has accepted more than 20 students so far and will continue to fill out the 40-person class as more applications roll in.

Corrections & Amplifications While Next Jump Inc. hasn't hired any business students since 12 M.B.A.s hired in 2010 failed to work out, Chief Executive and founder Charlie Kim says he hadn't sworn off hiring them. An earlier version of this article incorrectly characterized his comments.

As we slide into the Retirement Brain Drain—where the Baby Boomers who built & have maintained the mainframe systems that run the world slide into retirement—I expect it will become increasing clear that information systems are a not well managed resource in the vast majority of companies.

MBA educated CEOs think thusly: "If Harvard/Stanford/etc. thought systems were important, they would have taught them. Since systems are NOT a required first year discipline, therefore systems are not important. QED"

Or: "I can make the numbers come out anyway I want with Excel... what do I need those propeller heads for?"

The WWI saying from Downton Abbey comes to mind... "the butcher's bill is about to come due."

This article is embarrassing to the Ivy League. I can name a number of schools around the nation (primarily public) that are merging management and technology in the undergrad curriculum. I will say that most schools have messed up by having Computer Science in a school separate from the business school. This is why most large companies have an "in between" person to manage business expectations and their technology group.

We've had a similar program, with the degree an MS in Software Management, at Carnegie Mellon Silicon Valley, for almost 10 years. The program is team-oriented, project-based, learning-by-doing, and has graduated more than 250 students. Most of the students have degrees in computer science, and learn about the business side of software and the processes of software and product development. More info at http://www.cmu.edu/silicon-valley/academics/software-management/

John, some like Snapchat's CEO currently worth $3 billion dollars, don't have a degree at all. Evan Spiegel dropped out of Stanford in his senior year. So far, he doesn't seem to miss not receiving a degree.

Absolutely understand. Indeed, a working definition of a start-up is that it creates opportunity for those who are either undereducated or underprepared, by conventional standards, to excel. This social dynamic is a crown jewel of the US, and in particular, Si Valley.

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com.